Rewrite the past
by Imagination-LastWayOut1
Summary: Anne and WD have always been rather secretive about their life before the circus. When someone from their past turns up, will they be safe? What secret are the Wheeler siblings hiding? Mentioning of mature themes.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The final act just finished and the audience cheered with glee and excitement. The show had been great, with everyone giving wonderful performances entrancing the visitors. Anne and WD had shown their new routine for the first time and it had been a hit. Now, as the spectators were clearing the bleachers, the troupe gathered together, cleaning up the ring before going to their usual bar for celebrations. It was their last show for the week and everyone was excited to have a day off the next day.  
WD had his arm slung around his sister's shoulders, laughing at a joke Lettie had just made.  
Philip bid the last visitor a good night and turned to join his friends with cleaning up. He stopped for a short moment, to enjoy the view of his family laughing and thought to himself how happy he was that he had found his place, his home.  
Anne smiled at him and waved him towards them. He still could not believe that while finding family, he had also found love. Even WD had eventually given them his blessing and treated Philip like a brother… with the promise to end his life if he ever so much as hurt a hair on his sister of course.  
The troupe all knew about his parents and how difficult his childhood with them had been and all had shared their story with him as well.  
Only Anne and WD had been reluctant and nobody had pressured them into telling them their past. It was their past to keep and they would open up whenever they were ready. All that was important was that they were part of the circus now and happy amongst their family.  
But Philip had seen the scars on Anne's back and noticed sudden and loud noises sometimes made her flinch. He'd seen how protective WD was of Anne, especially around men. But it was not his place to force an explanation out of them, he would know when they want him to know. Until then, all he could do was make them feel part of their family and hold Anne and let her know how beautiful she was every day.  
The last ropes were put away and the group slowly dispersed through the back entry of the tent, wanting to change out of their costumes before heading off to the bar.  
It was only Philip, WD, Anne, Lettie and Constantine that had remained to clean up the bleachers before heading out.  
"Wasn't this show amazing today? It never ceases to amaze me how in awe those stuck up white people can be of us when they are in here." Anne chuckled.  
Her brother gave a hearty laugh and threw a piece of peanut shell at his sister "You know… I bet they are always in awe of us. This is just the only time they are allowed to show it. God forbid they actually accept us and enjoy seeing us outside the tent."  
None of the performers had noticed that a figure had stepped back into the ring, staring at the remaining circus troupe. Philip noticed the man first, not liking the arrogant sneer on his face and the way he looked over Anne's body.  
"Excuse me sir, the show has finished a little while ago and I have to ask you to leave." He said politely.  
At his words his friends turned around and Philip noticed how Anne paled immediately and WD pushed her protectively behind his back. Did they know this man?  
"Now, now… no need to be rude. I'm just here for what is mine. I was in town for business and saw your posters. Rather amazing what you have established here, sir. Mr Carlyle right? My friend told me about quite a bit about you. Wealthy man with family high up in society but chose to hang around this mob of freaks. See, I am from rather far away, but I have connections that tell me all I need to know. I was only supposed to be here for a business meeting but your little circus caught my eyes. Looks like you have something that belongs to me, something I lost a little while ago and I would like it back." The man sneered and Philip noticed how Anne disappeared further behind her brothers back, who now tried to walk slowly backwards towards the other end of the bleacher and make an unnoticed exit.  
Philip frowned "I have no idea what you might be talking about. Everything here belongs to Mr P.T. Barnum and his crew. What is it you said you lost?"  
Suddenly a piercing scream was heard and everyone turned around to see Anne being grabbed and pulled away from her brother's protection towards a strong man, another holding back WD. WD had slowly walked his sister backwards towards the other side of the bleachers so they could climb down unnoticed and exit through the backside of the tent. However, nobody had noticed that a group of men had been waiting in the shadows of the bleachers, grabbing Anne when they arrived at the end of them. WD had tried to fight but was also held down by the men.  
"Anne!" Philip yelled and was at the other side of the bleachers within a few jumps. He tried to pry her out of the stranger's hands but was thrown back when a punch landed in his face. Anne was kicking and screaming to be let go and WD was struggling as much as he could under the hands of two strong men.  
Meanwhile, the other man was watching the commotion from the other side of the tent with a smirk on his face.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Came a voice from the entrance of the tent. Barnum was standing at the entrance of the ring, trying to take in the situation. The commotion stopped and everyone was looking towards him, Anne sobbing in the hands of her capturer.  
"Mr Barnum, I assume. Mr Anthony Darwin." The man walked over to Barnum and held out his hand. Barnum eyed him suspiciously and folded his arms over.  
"What on earth do you think you are doing to my performers? Please leave these premises and take your group of thugs with you before I have to call the police in." Barnum waved his hand over to the other performers and the group of men that was holding them down. Lettie and Constantine had ran out to come and get him and were now filling in the rest of the group.  
"Well Mr Barnum, please do call the police. You see, you have something that belongs to me. Actually, you have two things that belong to me although I am happy to leave with just one of them." The man smirked again and pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket pocket.  
"This piece of paper proves that I have the legal rights to two slaves you are occupying here at your circus. Anne Marie Wheeler and Walter David Wheeler belong to me. I paid good money for them a few years back and they are my property. Now I understand that they have misled you in that they allowed you to think they were free and able to be employed, but that was not so. They ran away three years ago and are legally mine to take back. They will of course be punished for running away from their master but I have to ask you to hand them over."  
Philip dropped his hands that were a moment ago struggling against a monster of a man and stared at the piece of paper that was being passed between Mr Darwin and Barnum. Anne and WD were slaves… They were owned… His Anne was owned by that horrible man. He turned towards Anne who had gone completely limp in her capturers arms, tears sliding down her face silently. WD was still struggling but his eyes were diverted to the ground, too ashamed to look his friends in the eye.  
Mr Barnum read over the paper and nodded grimly "I see… It looks like everything is in order with these papers. You paid $1000 for each of them 6 years ago? That is quite the sum of money for a slave…"  
Mr Darwin chuckled slightly "Yes, let's say one of them had caught my eye. I would have only taken one, but they were sold as a pair. But no matter, I had the money. However, I have missed out on my property for three years and would like it back now that I found them. I understand it will be an inconvenience for you to lose your aerial act so I am happy to allow you to keep the male. I have, and never had, use for him anyway… if you know what I mean." The way he looked at Anne nearly made Philip throw up. It was clear to everyone what that man had bought Anne and WD for.  
Barnum sighed and looked over at his group "I'm sorry, Anne… WD…" With those words he turned around and walked back towards the trailers that were behind the tent. Philip gave out an animalistic scream and started struggling again. They were going to take his Anne away. They were going to take her away and do god knows what to her. But there was no way he could fight off the attackers. More man had joined the group just after Barnum had arrived and two were holding down Philip, while one man was pulling Anne towards the entrance of the tent and another three were struggling to hold down a fighting and screaming WD. Mr Darwin was nearly out of the tent, happy that this had gone so quickly, when he was called back by a hurried Mr Barnum who had re-entered the tent, followed by some of the other circus members.  
"Mr Darwin, I know you want to take Anne and WD with you immediately but I would like you to consider this offer I have to make." He held up a little suitcase and opened the lid. Inside were piles of money, neatly stacked. Darwin came to a stop and backtracked to look at the money.  
"This is $6000. $3000 for each of them. You paid $1000 back then so I believe this is acceptable compensation for your trouble how coming here and leaving without what you came for. You said so yourself… you have no use for WD, and that he can stay here. So technically you can see it as $3000 for each or $6000 for the girl. It is up to you. But if I was you, I would take the offer. You don't want this little situation to be in the newspaper tomorrow. And believe me, everyone would find it quite interesting that a man of your calibre would refuse this amount of money for a dirty slave… some might think you were in love with a spook. Now that would hurt your reputation." Barnum held the suitcase closer for the man to inspect.  
Darwin frowned and looked Barnum in the eyes "No one would believe such a story. I am of high society and no one would believe that I am in love with the coloured."  
Barnum laughed "If it's in the paper it's true. Everyone knows that. And I have some contacts at one of our newspapers, who has contacts at other newspapers across the states. I believe you are from the south Mr Darwin? I'm sure my friend at the papers has someone down there as well that would be happy to hear my version of the story, or Mr Carlyle's. You do know that the Carlyle family is one of the most respected in New York, right?"  
Mr Darwin frowned and considered the other man's words. He hesitated. His reputation was everything for him. He looked at Barnum and sighed.  
"Well, Mr Barnum. This a good offer indeed. Much more than I paid for them in the first place. I guess I can find another slave that sparks my interest when I am back home. This one is not worth all the trouble. Where shall we go to discuss the details and get the paperwork drawn up for?"  
Barnum gave the man a bright smile "Once your men have let my performers go and left the premises, I am happy to take you back to my office and we shall see to the formalities."  
Darwin nodded towards the group of men that had come with him and they instantly let Anne, WD and Philip go. The men threw them hatefully to the ground and Philip was up instantly, sliding to a stop at Anne's side. The woman was laying on the ground shaking and still sobbing quietly. When Philip tried to reach for her and draw her into a hug, Anne recoiled and pushed him away whimpering. WD was a few meters away, Lettie and Constantine having gone over to him to help him up. WD pushed their hands away and crawled his way over to his sister, not even bothering to get up. He reached Anne and grabbed her hand, pulling her up into a hug. Anne clung to WD, her breath coming out in short puffs.  
"Anne, it's ok. They are gone. We are save now. Nobody is going to take us away anymore. You have to breath. You are hyperventilating. Here, follow my breathing."  
WD pressed her against his chest, allowing the girl to feel his heartbeat, trying to get her to slow down her breathing. The rest of the crew was watching from a little distance. Philip had a heartbroken look in his eyes but was aware that at this time Anne needed her brother. WDs focus was all on Anne and eventually the girl's breathing slowed down until she was barely awake anymore.  
WD looked up and made eye contact with Philip "Carlyle, could you take her to her trailer please? I know you'll keep her save."  
Philip nodded and bent down next to the nearly asleep girl. He drew her into his arm and lifted her up easily. WD watched the two as Philip made his way towards the trailers with the sleeping girl. His shoulders sagged in relief and suddenly all the energy drained out of the man. He tried standing but his legs started giving out from under him, resulting in Constantine and one of the other performers having to support him.  
"I'm fine… Just exhausted. I think I might retreat to my trailer for a while…" The others nodded at him and helped him towards his room, sharing a look between each other.  
Once inside, WD fell onto his bed and he wept silent tears. Tears for his sister…tears for himself. Tears for this messed up world that allowed people to be owned. Tears for the horrible things that had happened to Anne while they were enslaved by Darwin and in his grip. And those thoughts, WD cried himself to sleep, unaware of the rest of the crew who had given him his privacy after helping him to his trailer.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After WDs request, Philip picked Anne up bridal style and carried her back to her cart. The whole ordeal had been exhausting and Anne had fallen fast asleep in his arms by the time he made it to her trailer. He manoeuvred himself and Anne into the cart and laid the sleeping girl onto the bed that stood in the corner. Philip picked up the blanket that was neatly folded at the bottom of the bed and draped it over his girlfriend. He looked around the trailer and pulled a chair closer to the bed, not wanting to leave Anne's side for one moment. He was still trying to comprehend what had happened just moments before and could not yet quite wrap his head around the information he had just found out. Anne and WD were slaves. They "belonged" to some arrogant rich guy who clearly had his eyes set on the girl. Philip didn't want to let his thoughts go into the possible horrific treatment Anne and WD had to endure before they had been able to run away. If they had felt the need to run away, then obviously their life had been horrendous. Anne stirred in her sleep and a frown appeared on her forehead. Philip quickly pushed a strand of curly hair out of her face and grabbed hold of the woman's delicate hand. Instantly, Anne relaxed and the frown disappeared from her face, a small smile appearing instead.  
"No matter what you had to endure in the past… I will never let anything happen to you ever again" Philip whispered quietly.  
He leaned back into the chair and rested his eyes for a little moment.  
He knew Barnum was still talking to Mr Darwin about the arrangement but he trusted his friend to sort everything. He knew that Barnum would do anything in his ability to make sure his family of oddities was save.  
Philip's thoughts briefly went o WD and the pained expression he had when he was unable to free his sister from the arms of those cruel men. Philip was wondering what the older man was doing right now. He could imagine that WD was probably in his own trailer, taking in the events from the past hours. When he had allowed him to carry his sister away, he had seen the exhausted look on his face. The day's events hadn't just affected his sister, it had taken everything out of WD as well.  
Philip made a mental note to check in on the man, but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to leave Anne's side. Especially since he wasn't sure if that excuse of a man, Mr Darwin, was still on the circus premises. Slowly, Philip let his thoughts wander, succumbing to a restless slumber.

He was awoken by a piercing scream and flailing arms at his side. Philip was on his feet in an instance, looking around for any intruders. But the only thing he found was a distressed Anne, eyes still closed, sobbing in her sleep. The man quickly sat on the side of the bed and shook Anne's shoulders.  
"Anne, Anne wake up. It's a nightmare. You are save. Everything is ok. Anne!" In an instant, Anne bolted upright and pressed herself into the corner of the bed.  
She whimpered slightly "Please, don't… please leave me alone. I don't want to. Please… don't touch me" The words were pressed out tightly and Philip recoiled quickly. Anne thought he would hurt her. 'No, she doesn't know who you are at the moment. She knows you would never hurt her' his thoughts came to his mind.  
Philip gave Anne some space but continued talking to her "Anne, you are having a nightmare. It's me Philip. I will never hurt you and I will never let that scumbag hurt you ever again either. You hear? You are save!"  
Anne's eyes blinked into focus. Suddenly she recognised the man in front of her and threw herself into Philips arms. He gathered her up into his arms and run his hands smoothly up and down her back, allowing her to even out her breathing and mumbling words of reassurance quietly into her ear.  
The door was thrown open suddenly and WD raced in, having been asleep in the trailer next door, hearing the screams his sister had let out. However, at the sight in front of him, he lowered the cane he had quickly grabbed in case he needed to defend his sister and made eye contact with Philip's concerned eyes. Philip mouthed the word nightmare and WD sighed deeply. Of course they would start again now. After they had escaped three years ago Anne had suffered from severe nightmare for months. WD walked the short distance towards the bed and sat down in the chair that was now vacated. He reached over and grasped his sisters hand who gave him a thankful look. Together the three sat there until even breath could be heard from Anne. She had fallen asleep again, snuggled up in Philips embrace and still holding on to her brother's hand. WD let his head fall back and sighed heavily. He had a suspicion that these nightmares would be coming back for a while. Philip looked over to the other man, silent questions in his eyes.  
WD shifted slightly in the chair, not letting go of his sister's hand. "I guess it's time I tell you about our past…"

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"When Anne and I were little, mother had to give us up. She didn't have enough money to feed us, so she sold us to a rich, white man who could use us on the fields and in the house.  
I was 10 years old and Anne was 7. He was nice enough, giving us shelter and food. The work was hard, but bearable. However, he died a few years after and left his estate… us… to his daughter and son-in-law. His son-in-law never thought much of coloured people and couldn't use us.  
We were still young, 14 and 11 years old, so he sold us to the person that paid the most. We stayed at the next place for two years, but they lost their land and went bankrupt, so they sold us again. We changed places a few times, and when Anne turned 15, we were sold to Mr Anthony Darwin. You should have seen the look he gave Anne. She was only 15 years old… but that didn't stop Mr Darwin. He didn't want to buy both of us. He really only had eyes for Anne, but thankfully our previous owners only sold us as a pair. And once he had both of us, he might as well put me to work. I tried so hard to protect her, but she was working in the house and I was out on the field…"  
WD's shoulders shuddered as tears ran down his cheeks silently.  
"We tried to run away the first week. Darwin hadn't touched Anne yet, but we both knew it was going to happen eventually the way he looked at her. We only made it a few miles before they caught us. They beat the crap out of me that day and I didn't get to see Anne for almost a week. As it turns out, Darwin thought he now had all the power over us as he had stopped us from escaping. God… I wish I was there for her but they wouldn't let me near the house. I tried every day… But ever since our failed escape, he made his advances towards Anne. Nothing too serious yet… just lustful glares, comments, some grabbing here or there. Anne would tell me all about it and it made me so angry. We tried escaping again, but failed again. Anne told me how he had come into her room when she was undressing and had wanted to watch her change. She was embarrassed and quickly got changed and he left. He wouldn't do much more as long as his wife and daughter were there. Just staring, watching her whenever he got the chance.  
However, after about two years, his wife got very sick and died. His daughter was sent to boarding school, and of course then there was nothing holding him back anymore. He raped her the first time on the day of his wife's funeral. We didn't think he'd make his advances so quickly after his wife died and had made plans to try escaping again before he was able to hurt Anne"  
WD broke down in quiet sobs. "But it was too late, I found her in her room the next day. God you should have seen her. Her face was so blank. She just sat there. After a while I got her to talk to me and I would have nearly run out there and killed that bastard. But Anne asked me to stay, to hold her so she could feel save for a little while. She didn't want me to go to jail for scum like him. And so we just sat there. We talked about our plan and that we needed to escape that night before he could hurt her again.  
So when everyone went to bed, we tried again. We slid out the side door and made our way towards the back of the house. We hadn't tried this path before and hoped that it was less guarded and that nobody would see us. There was also no closer town in that direction so we were hoping that they thought we'd take a path that would lead us to a town so we could take the train, like the times we tried to escape before. However, we only made it about half an hour out before we heard them come after us. But we couldn't go back that time. Not after what he did to Anne. So I pulled her along and we ran, and when we couldn't run anymore, Anne had the idea to climb up some trees that had so many leaves that they wouldn't see us from below. So we sat up in that tree and waited. We waited and waited… probably for an entire day before we thought it was safe enough to come down and keep going. We walked for days, it was so exhausting. But we couldn't stop. Not until we were sure that Darwin couldn't find us.  
We took refuge in an empty barn just a few miles out of a small town that we didn't even knew existed. There were only a few houses. We stayed there for a few days before we kept going. It was maybe a week before we came to a bigger town. There was a train station there and so we used up the little money that Anne had been able to grab from the house and bought two tickets to as far away as possible. And that's how we ended up in New York. It was hard at first. For the first three months we had nowhere to stay, no money for food.  
Anne got sick for a little while… it was so cold. But a kind woman took us in for a few weeks until Anne was better. And then we saw Barnum's advertisement for the circus. Mother had taught us how to do trapeze as soon as we could walk and when we were slaves, we used any ropes and opportunities that we could find to continue. And then Barnum took us in and here we are."  
Silence swept through the cart. Only Anne's slow breathing could be heard and WD was glad that she had slept through everything he told Philip.  
Philip's face was set blankly. He was looking at his sleeping girlfriend in his arms and could suddenly understand all the times she had flinched under peoples touches, or sudden noises. He could understand how she always seemed alert, looking over her shoulder when they were out. He could understand now, how she was so self-conscious around him. And it brought anger to him. He could punch the wall right now. He would love to go out there and kill that bastard that had hurt his angel. But he knew that Anne needed him right here. There was nothing Philip could do to change her past… just her future.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Philip woke to a soft knock on the door. Anne was still cuddled up into his chest, never having let go of her brother's hand who dozed in the chair next to the bed. The siblings hadn't been woken up by Lettie's knock, who now entered the room quietly, balancing a tray of coffee and breakfast.  
"Hey, Barnum sent me over with some breakfast for the lot of you. Said you might want to have it here in peace and quiet instead of with the whole mob. Said to let you know that he is expecting you at his office whenever you guys are up and ready." Lettie whispered and dropped the tray of food on the little table in the room. She smiled over to the sleeping girl in Philip's arms and quickly turned to leave the room.  
Philip nudged Anne slightly, arousing the girl. Anne looked sleepily up at Philip and smiled tentatively at him, before snuggling back into his chest. Philip chuckled, pressing the girl closer to him. WD yawned and stretched slightly, letting go of his sister's hand.  
"What time is it? Everyone else is probably already practising. Anne, how are you feeling?" WD looked over to his sister. Anne unwound herself from Philips embrace and sat up on the bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "I'm feeling alright… I guess you told Philip about Darwin?" She asked her brother, having noticed the dried tear stains on his face. WD nodded and Philip quickly drew her back into a hug.  
"I will never let that bastard touch you. I can't change what happened to you and WD, but hell… I can make sure that this will never ever happen to you. You have all your family here and we will all keep you save. No one is going to let anything happen to you." Philip pressed a light kiss to her forehead.  
Anne nodded slightly, but Philip could see doubt in her and WD's eyes. As much as Philip would try and protect them, they would still always be owned by someone. They might not be owned by Darwin anymore, but who knows how long Barnum will be able to keep them. It was a lot of money he had to give their former owner, and everyone knew how bad Barnum was with finances. There would be a time eventually in which he'd need the money and Anne had no doubt that he would be able to sell them on for good money. Maybe not as much as he paid, but good money nonetheless. But she didn't want to think about this now. She was here, with her brother, with Philip, with her family.  
Philip rose from the bed and retrieved the tray of food Lettie had left. The three ate in silence and once the tray was empty, Philip announced that Barnum wanted to see them.  
Anne paled slightly. What if Barnum realised he made a mistake and reversed the sale. What if her and WD had to go back to that monster after all?  
"Hey, everything is going to be ok. Barnum will make sure everything went alright and you guys have nothing to worry about, ok?" Philip whispered into her ear. She nodded slightly and got up from bed. The three left Anne's room and made their way towards Barnum's office.  
Philip opened the door and Anne and WD followed him into the trailer. Barnum was sitting behind his desk, going through some files that were laid out before / "Ah, the sleeping beauties have awoken. Please, come in. Sit! Lettie brought you breakfast, did she?"  
Anne and WD nodded.  
Barnum looked the siblings straight in the eyes "Alright… let's get to business. Mr Darwin and I have finalised all the formalities and I assume he is on his way back home now. I don't think we will see him again. I want you to know that you are save now. We are your family and we will make sure that you are alright."  
WD sighed "Mr Barnum, Anne and I appreciate what you did for us yesterday. But we also know that you could not afford the money right now. Animals have to fed, the tents have to be kept, performers and staff has to be paid, bills keep coming. So as much as we appreciate what you did for us yesterday, keeping Darwin away from Anne, we know that this cannot be forever. We are still property of men and eventually we will fall into hands of much less kind people again. It is just the way things are."  
Barnum grinned from one ear to the other "Well WD, it is true. I could not afford to buy you two myself. Which is why I haven't…"  
The three opposite his desk looked at him confused.  
"You see, none of the performers wanted you to leave and we all wanted you to be part of our family permanently. So everyone put forward their next pay check and together we made this happen. So at this point of time, you belong to the whole group of the circus. So there is definitely no way that you will leave us anytime soon. However, I understand your feelings about still being owned by someone. So we have all sat together and talked about it. How much money do you two have in your pockets right now?"  
Anne and WD looked confused and emptied the pockets of their pants and skirt. They counted the money and found that they had $20 all together.  
"Geeze, you two should not be carrying that much money around. You know O'Malley's quick fingers" Mr Barnum laughed, his grin from one ear to the other.  
He pulled one of the forms in front of him closer and wrote something on it.  
"Well, so here it is. The troupe and I have talked and we have decided to sell ownership of Anne Marie Wheeler and Walter David Wheeler for… what did you say? $20 it was?... yes… for $20. I have the paperwork ready here and we just need to transfer the money over and both sign here. So what do you two think?"  
Anne and WD looked at Barnum with a shocked expression. Anne's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, not being able to believe what was happening.  
WD frowned "Mr Barnum, as much as we would like, we could not take this offer. You paid so much more for us than $20. You'd be losing a hell lot of money. This is a very bad investment for you and as your friends, as your family, we cannot do that to you or the others."  
Anne shrunk back into her seat. Her brother was right of course.  
But Mr Barnum shook his head in disagreement "Nonsense! In my eyes this is the wisest investment I have ever made. Well… maybe after buying the circus and giving you all a home in the first place… or maybe after marrying Charity, because we all know how lost I'd be without her."  
Even Anne smiled at this comment.  
"Like I said… the troupe and I have talked about it. And we have all agreed that we want to give this to you. We would have given you this paper without any charge at all, but law says you have to physically pay money for ownership to transfer. It just doesn't say how much. And before you go on about all the money we lose, just think about everything we gain. You guys will be free, your own owners. And financially we are all able to survive. We have all pulled together and wanted to do this for you. Take it as an early birthday present… for whenever your birthdays are… when are your birthdays?" Barnum frowned.  
At this WD laughed "Anne's is actually next week. And mine will be the month after." This was the first personal information the siblings had ever shared with the circus (of course besides everything WD told Philip the night before).  
Barnum's grin spread "See! It was meant to be. The perfect birthday present! Now stop thinking about it and just sign this god damn paper. I only owned you for what… 15 hours?... and god am I happy to be able to give that responsibility away again. You two are just too damn stubborn to be bossed around. Go boss yourself around from now on."  
Barnum smirked at the two and gave a playful wink.  
Anne and WD looked at each other and smiled. They turned back to Barnum and picked up the pen, signing the document that, for the first time in a decade, would make them owners of themselves.  
Tears fell from both of the sibling's eyes when the paperwork was filled and Philip and Barnum hugged both of the performers tightly. There was no one in the world that was able to take them away now. They were free and could do whatever they wanted, which of course was being here performing alongside their family.  
Suddenly the door swung open and Lettie and the others crammed inside the tiny trailer.  
"Have they signed it? Is it done yet?"  
When they all saw the happy faces, everybody broke out into cheers. Hugs were given and people clapped each other on the backs. Anne locked eyes with Philip and both smiled brightly at each other. This was family, this was home and nothing in the world was able to change that now.

The end.


End file.
